Comparative study of emotion recognition and theory of mind between major depressive disorder and schizophrenia

Examining the relationship between Theory of Mind functions and emotional and mindful awareness in schizophrenia patients

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between the Theory of Mind functions and the emotional and mindful awareness of schizophrenia patients. The sample of the study consisted of 118 schizophrenia patients who were attending the Community Mental Health Center. The data were collected with the Sociodemographic Data Form, Dokuz Eylül Theory of Mind Scale (DETMS), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), and Mindful Awareness Scale (MAAS). As well as demographic analysis, Pearson Correlation Analysis, and Regression Analysis were used to analyze the study data. The schizophrenia patients received 4.86 ± 2.66 points from DETMS, 51.89 ± 14.29 points from MAAS, and 57.91 ± 12.37 points from TAS. A significant relationship was detected between DETMS, MAAS, and TAS total scores (p < 0.05). As the DETMS score increased, the TAS score decreased and the MAAS score increased. It was found that the TAS score was an effective predictor of Theory of Mind, but the MAAS score was not a significant predictor of Theory of Mind (R = 0.310, R2adjusted = 0.080, F(2.115) = 6.102; p = 0.003). The TAS score explained 8 % of the variation in the Theory of Mind. As a result of the study, it was found that the Theory of Mind functions of schizophrenia patients were at low levels, half of the patients had alexithymia, and their mindful awareness levels were close to the average. It can be argued that emotional awareness is an effective variable in the Theory of Mind. As individuals' Theory of Mind functions increase, their alexithymia levels decrease and mindful awareness increases.

Contrasting Metacognitive, Emotion Recognition and Alexithymia Profiles in Bulimia, Anorexia, and Schizophrenia

ABSTRACT

Alexithymia, or deficits in emotion recognition, and metacognitive capacity have been noted both in psychosis and eating disorders and potentially linked to psychopathology. This study sought to compare levels of impairments in these phenomena and their associations with psychopathology in groups with eating disorders and psychosis. Participants with diagnoses of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD; n = 53), anorexia (n = 40), or bulimia (n = 40) were recruited from outpatient clinics. Alexithymia was measured with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale; emotion recognition, with the Ekman Faces Test; and metacognition, with the Metacognitive Assessment Scale-Abbreviated. Psychopathology was measured with the Eating Attitudes Test, Body Image Questionnaire, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Results indicated that the SSD group had significantly poorer metacognitive function than either eating disorder group. Metacognition was related to body image in the anorexia group and a range of different forms of general psychopathology in the bulimia group. Alexithymia was related to eating disorder behaviors in the bulimia group.

Effectiveness of accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation for social cognition and negative symptoms among individuals with schizophrenia: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Social cognitive and negative symptoms impairment may increase the risk of mental disability in individuals with schizophrenia. However, randomized controlled studies on the effectiveness of accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) for social cognition and negative symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia are very limited.

METHODS

A total of 125 individuals with schizophrenia were recruited, 66 of whom were randomly divided into an active iTBS group (n=34) and sham iTBS group (n=32) by stratified sampling. Participants received either active iTBS or sham iTBS targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) 20 sessions for 4 weeks under navigation. The Facial Emotion Recognition Test (FERT), Hinting Task (HT), and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were measured at baseline, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks. The trial protocol was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100051984).

RESULTS

Sixty patients (90.90%) completed the intervention and the 4-week follow-up, including 29 women (43.94%) and 37 men (56.06%) with a mean (SD) age of 47.53 (10.17) years. The primary outcomes showed FERT scores (week 2; 0.27 [95% CI, 0.09 to 0.45]; P< .01; ES 0.14) (week 4; 0.63 [95% CI, 0.45 to 0.80]; P< .001; ES 0.47) and HT scores (week 2; 1.00 [95% CI, -0.02 to 1.98]; P< .05; ES 0.67) (week 4; 2.13 [95% CI, 1.21 to 3.06]; P< .001; ES 0.27) in the active iTBS group were significantly different from those in the sham iTBS group at 2 and 4 weeks of follow-up. The secondary outcome showed that the negative symptom score (-3.43 [95% CI, -4.85 to -2.01]; P< .001; ES 0.29) of the active iTBS group was significantly different from that of the sham iTBS group at the 4th week of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Accelerated iTBS can effectively ameliorate the social cognition and negative symptoms of individuals with schizophrenia. These results suggest that accelerated iTBS may be a safe and effective neuromodulation technique to improve the overall functional recovery of individuals with schizophrenia, and has a good clinical application prospect.